K-6 Full-Day

Full-day students attend 3 morning classes from 9 AM to 12 PM, and have lunch and recreation or quiet time with friends from noon to 1 PM. After recess students participate in an integrative theme that combines art, music, science, math, drama and social studies. For students who need to stay past 3 PM, Extended Care is available until 5:30 PM.

Session Dates:

Session I: June 11th – June 22nd

Session II: July 16th – July 27th

Class Size:

Limited to 15 students per class

What to bring:

A folder with pockets and pencils

A nut-free snack to eat mid-morning

A nut-free lunch and beverage

Course Offerings

Amphibians Can Do It All!

Grades K-3rd
Herpetology is the branch of zoology concerned with reptiles and amphibians. Do you find reptiles’ scaly skin and cold-blooded nature interesting? Discover the amazing instincts that reptiles are born with and investigate their evolution. How does it compare to that of mammals? Did you know that amphibian means having two modes of existence? That is because amphibians are born in the water breathing with gills but develop lungs and can live on land as adults! Learn about the biology and history of amphibians and see how diverse this group really is. Imagine how they will evolve in the future.

Da Vinci – The Original Renaissance Man

Grades K-6thTravel back in time to investigate Leonardo Da Vinci – Artist, Scientist, Engineer, Sculptor, to name a few. While learning about the Renaissance, we’ll sample a typical dish that Da Vinci would have eaten. Put on your artist’s hat to design a journal, sketch using linear perspective, sculpt a mask, and make your own paint. Switching hats, recreate some of Leonardo’s famous inventions while exploring optics, weather, and flight. Build a model of his portable bridge and create a trebuchet. Lastly, record your findings using Da Vinci’s peculiar backwards writing. Take a step back into Leonardo’s Renaissance and build, create, and investigate!

Party Hearty

Grades K-6thWelcome to event planning 101. So, you want to plan a party? Decide if you’re throwing a Halloween, birthday, or Valentine’s party? Discover the steps you need to plan the party of your dreams. Research types of parties and supplies needed to make it a successful event. Using math, we’ll learn how to work within a budget to cover the costs of all party necessities. We’ll make tissue flowers, learn techniques for arranging fresh flowers, or place balloons! Design your own invitations to compliment your party theme. Explore menus to fit your party idea and create some decorative samples for the class to enjoy. Discover group games that will keep the party alive and try them out with classmates. Let your imagination run wild and plan a spectacular party!

Treacherous Treasures in Space

Grades K – 6thEarth’s resources are being consumed at an alarming rate. Join us on an arduous adventure as we seek treasure in space. By deconstructing what resources are, and how we attain them on Earth, we’ll better evaluate any new resources we encounter. The first part of our mission will be to explore and improve upon modern space technology including hypothetical radio frequency propulsion systems. We’ll build our exploration vehicles while planning for mining operations. Then we’re off to investigate our solar system, stopping in the asteroid belt to evaluate 16 Psyche, a giant ball of iron and nickel, as we head toward the outer reaches of the known universe in search of precious compounds and possibly even a new place to call home. Not even black holes are off limits in this no-stone-left-unturned style expedition to save our world. Join our adventure because the Earth is depending on you.

That’s a Rap

Grades K-6th
Ever wonder what it would be like to be a hip-hop carhop? Are mash ups and adaptations of classics your thing? Do you think you could upgrade a Disney classic with a Hamilton style twist? Then come along and join this adventure in rhyme. We’ll explore the world of improvisation as we build our performance skills. Let words, rhythm, movement, and energy take you to a new creative level and help you build confidence in your abilities. Wrapping our many talents into our own original work will make for a wild and rewarding journey in the hip-hop revolution.

Penguin Planet

Grades K-6th
Explore the life of these aquatic, flightless birds that have adapted to living in the water. Did you know that penguins’ distinct tuxedo-like appearance is called countershading, a form of camouflage that helps keep them safe? Discover what makes their bodies unique and able to live in their habitat by experimenting with blubber and waterproof feathers. Did you know that not all penguins live in the cold? The African Penguin lives in warm Southern Africa, while others live in the Antarctic. Consider the 17 different species of penguins like Emperor and King. Explore what they eat and how they use their beaks. Create your own species of penguin that will survive best on Earth!

Shipping Container Homes

Grades K-6th
You’ve heard of tiny houses, but why are so many people now making ‘medium houses’ out of international shipping containers? They are much less expensive than conventional homes, require less maintenance and are easier on the environment, and they can be designed to be moved from place to place. They are individual, customizable, and can be built step by step and improved as funds are available. We’ll look at examples of existing shipping container homes and learn the basic kinds that are available. Be an architect designing one of your own. Do you want to build one cool house, or one that a thousand people will want to build? What is your ideal home design and what modifications would you make if you wanted yours to be unique?

Fresh from the Oven

Grades K-6th
What do biscuits, tortillas, baguettes, and naan have in common? Each is a type of bread that reflects a culture and cuisine. All over the world, bakers are artists with dough, creating aromatic loaves, rolls, and even pizza. Join us as we measure, mix, shape, and bake tasty breads from around the world. Using a variety of grains and leavenings, we’ll explore the chemistry of the breads we eat—why does one dough make pancakes and another make muffins? Learn to knead, proof, and punch down as you create and taste a “baker’s dozen” of breads.

Emerging Engineers

Grades K-6th
Do you ever wonder how some things work? Have you ever taken something apart just to see the insides? Or, maybe you like building things, putting odds and ends together to engineer something new? We’ll do both! By constructing a variety of linkages using fixed and moving pivots, you’ll discover the relational cause and effect of each, how the force of our inputs and outputs can change, and how linkages can be combined to engineer a variety of movements. Applying the same process used by actual engineers and scientists, we’ll create an original work combining art and science. Students in grades 2nd and up will then advance to automatons and see how the rotation and shape of the inner workings determines the movement of each. Our culminating project combines it all with recyclables for a one-of-a kind moving sculpture.

It’s Greek to Me

Grades K-6th
Jump back in time to Ancient Greece and explore the most popular myths that Grecians told about their Gods and Goddesses, like King Midas. Explore the Great War between the Titans and the Olympians. Discover mythological creatures like the minotaur and Pegasus and create your own mythological figure. We’ll also explore Greek God symbols like the winged shoes of Hermes and Zeus’s thunderbolt; create your own God and symbol. At the end of our journey, design an armband to represent a chosen God or Goddess and compete in our own 5-event Olympics!

Decoding Secret Messages

Grades 3-6th
How many ping pong balls fit in an airplane? How long would it take to walk to New York? Use coding to solve brain teasers! Did you know that one of the first brain teaser enthusiasts was the Greek mathematician Archimedes? Learn strategies for approaching challenging conundrums, and unlock secret messages using a custom decoder. Learn more about algorithms and how to build your own with code. Create and plan your own secret messages! How hard will you make your puzzle? Test them on your friend and see if they crack them! Can you trick the class? Become both the creator of clever puzzles and the sleuth who can solve them.

The Radar War!

Grades 4-6th
The atomic bomb may have ended WW2, but radar won it! Never have science and war been so closely coupled together as they have been since the end of the Second World War. What is radar? We’ll explore the science of radar, how it works and how to interpret its signals. Why is it so important? Investigate stealth technology and determine how early stealth aircraft were defeated by cellular telephone signals? What are “low observables” and why are they so critical to defense strategy? Bats use radar to find their food, and your car probably has “lidar” installed. What kind of radar will there be in the future?

Game Creator

Grades 4-6th
How do you communicate with your computer? Think of a problem in your life and how you would fix it? Learn to use the programming language of Python and coding to solve real world problems and create online games and stories? Build a complex maze with code for a friend to solve. Did you know that multiple people make most coding games? Design the game as a team and work together build it! What game would you create? You are in control of the user’s experience and how they play your game! Get a step up on your programming career and discover how to get a job working with computers as you use creativity to take your computer skills to another level.

Afternoon Theme: Pioneers and Inventors

Americans have long been pioneers investigating new territories, designing new inventions, and starting new businesses. What prompted the first settlers to endure a rough and dangerous voyage to get to this country and how did the attitudes and values of these early folks set the stage for what was to come? What was life like for the Mayflower Pilgrims when they arrived at Plymouth Rock? We’ll learn about Lewis and Clark, wagon trains, and life of the early pioneers. What was a typical day in the life of a child of the 1800s like? We’ll make toys of the times and churn butter. Switching gears, we’ll explore some of the key inventions, such as the plow, the Cotton Gin, and Henry Ford’s Model T that changed lives. Learn about patents and how to get one. More recently, the internet and video game inventors have taken center stage. Through exploring the Smithsonian Museum’s Lemelson Center for the Study of Invention and Innovation, we’ll learn about many of the early innovators in gaming. Try your hand at creating something new in the field. We must not forget our space pioneers. How would you envision our next space colony?

Bugs in Flight

Grade K-3rd
Winged insects are the only invertebrates that can fly! Wings serve not only as organs of flight, but also may be adapted variously as protective covers, thermal collectors, gyroscopic stabilizers, sound producers, or visual cues for species recognition and mating. We’ll learn about these wild wings with veins, nerves, and muscle attached and study the evolution of flying insects. Discover how bees communicate through dance and the role winged creatures play in pollination. Many drone designs come from biomimicry of insects!

Superlative Super Heroes

Grade K-3rd
Do you know what you and your favorite super hero have in common? Have you ever contemplated what traits they combine with their super powers to excel in altruistic endeavors? Then consider joining our quest to become the best of the best as we assemble our band of super heroes and prepare for an epic show-down with the worst villains. Engage in various super feats as we work our way to the ultimate reward, a super feast. As we snack on super foods, we’ll create new teams of super heroes from their alter egos, design costumes, and determine support systems meant to keep them on the right side of the fight. By exploring every facet of what makes well-balanced individuals and teams, we’ll excel in our ability to repel future evil.

Feel the Power!

Grades K – 6th
Become an energy expert as we investigate work and power. What is Energy? How much energy does the whole world use and where does it come from? What is a fuel? How much energy do the United States, China, and India use and how much energy does your family use? Do you think that people should get to use all the energy they want? Who should decide? How much energy does it take for basic human needs; like heating and cooling, growing food, washing clothes, and having lights so you can read at night? Discover how many people in the world do not have enough energy to do those things? Debate the issue of energy justice? We’ll experiment and learn how many watts of power you can generate and how many joules of energy it takes to move around.

Animal Announcements

Grades K-6th
We all know ducks quack, dogs bark, and birds chirp, but that barely scratches the surface of all the amazing ways animals have invented to talk to each other. Explore how creatures communicate with sound, body parts, sonar, smell, light and even ultrasound. Did you know that Caribbean Sperm whales will use unique combinations of clicks as a name tag? Some animals even form sentences – like the Black-Fronted Titis! Discover the purposes for communicating such as to warn others of danger, or to vote on a decision, like the bison. Elephants communicate their awareness of death when they touch and smell bones of dead elephants with their trunks and then grieve their lost loved ones by covering them in grass and leaves. Create your own special way to communicate in the animal kingdom!

Land of the Rising Sun

Grades K-6thClimb aboard the bullet train and head to the islands of Japan. We’ll explore the traditional and modern. The cities of Tokyo and Kyoto will be our backdrop, while we inhale the cherry blossoms, make and taste sushi, and try our hand at Shodo (traditional calligraphy). Have you ever wished you could be a Ninja or a Samurai or wondered how a 400 lb. Sumo wrestler can be considered graceful? Get in a Zen state of mind while making a miniature rock garden and performing a tea ceremony. Learn the art of slurping to be a gracious guest. The last part of our journey will include folding origami and drawing Anime. This trip will be a whirlwind excursion, so pack your kimono and hop aboard!

Games Around the World

Grades K-6th
Did you know that marbles were discovered in the ashes of Pompeii? Throughout time, children all over the world have loved playing games. Join us as we “travel” to China where we’ll build tangram animals. Explore the home of the Rubik’s cube, Hungary, and see how fast you can solve the popular puzzle! Bamboo poles will become our tinikling sticks from the Philippines. We’ll play Pass the Parcel from England, kudoda from Zimbabwe, Luta de Galo from Brazil and make a piñata from Mexico. Back home in the US, we’ll explore many great jump rope games. Come play!

Seas Every Opportunity

Grades K-6th
Be a marine biologist and take the plunge through each of the ocean zones to discover the life and adaptations of animals and plants at each level. Create your own mystery animal and decide in what zone it resides– does it have scales, fur, give live birth or lay eggs? From the tiniest plankton to the blue whale, we’ll travel through food webs to discover how these organisms depend on each other for survival. Learn about squid and perform a dissection (if you wish). Sample calamari and discover other food items from the sea.Examine the oceans’ amazing energy–make a wave in a bottle and investigate how tides and winds produce electricity. How does seawater preserve rotting wood and rusting metal in sunken ships? Discover artifacts from ships such as the Titanic that are buried under seabed mud and design your own underwater vehicle for exploration.

Code Breakers

Grades 2nd-6thGet ready to crack some fascinating puzzles and codes. Along the way you’ll pick up some tricks of the trade from famous spies and military leaders. Discover the Knight’s Templar Cipher, the Caesar code, and the Napoleon Cipher. Learn about the Navajo Code Talkers and General Washington’s Culper Code Book. Create tools using sticks and wheels for decoding and encoding messages. Formulate secret ink to write your words. Your mission, should you choose to accept, is to solve as many puzzles and codes as you can. Good luck!

Thread the Needle

Grades 2nd-6th
Are you a doer who loves making and creating? Learn to use simple embroidery stitches such as the back, running, whip, and straight stitch to make a pin cushion or sachet pillow. Cross stitch gift tags and learn beginning crochet stitches. Master finger knitting. Apply simple weaving techniques to create wall hangings and bookmarks. Braid with more than three strands to fashion bracelets. Along with way, you’ll learn about the history of each craft and how different fibers are made into thread and yarn. Let your imagination run wild as you work with your “th”imble fingers.

Galileo – The Starry Messenger

Grades 2nd-6thIs it possible to measure heat or weigh air? Does the Earth stand still or does it move? How fast do objects fall to the Earth? Travel back in time to discover the many questions that the genius Renaissance man, Galileo, considered. He discovered 4 moons of Jupiter 400 years ago with a telescope he made himself! We’ll create a star viewer and see what Galileo saw. Place yourself at the Leaning Tower of Pisa, in the 1600’s and let’s prove, through our experiments, Galileo’s theory of air resistance and inertia. Investigate why Galileo’s support of the Copernican theory (Earth revolving around the sun), plotted warfare between science and religion. What stance would you take in this matter if you were alive during this era? We’ll verify Galileo’s theory that air expands due to heat and contracts due to cold. Build a model of Galileo’s thermometer and discover his treasure box. Get an enchanting introduction to his accomplishments through the magic of science.

Digital Forensics and Crime Scene Investigation

Grades 3rd-6thHow secure is your password? We’ll create good ones and bad ones and learn what makes them so. What data about you is easily found on the Internet? When a burner cell phone is found at a crime scene, we’ll learn how to crack it, find the key digital evidence, and solve the crime. Will your digital evidence hold up in court? You can be a prosecutor or a defense attorney and make your case to the court. Can you win? What is the law on digital privacy today, and what should the law be in the future?

Game Creator I

Grades 4th-6th
How do you communicate with your computer? Think of a problem in your life and how you would fix it? Learn to use the programming language of Python and coding to solve real world problems and create online games and stories? Build a complex maze with code for a friend to solve. Did you know that multiple people make most coding games? Design the game as a team and work together build it! What game would you create? You are in control of the user’s experience and how they play your game! Get a step up on your programming career and discover how to get a job working with computers as you use creativity to take your computer skills to another level.

Game Creator II *

Grade 3rd-6th
Think you can create an original game with code? You learned the basics of coding in Python; now invent a new challenging game for you and your friends to play. Programming is all about creativity and independence. Using the basics from Game Creator I, develop and challenging and innovative product! How many players will you include? What rules would you propose? Test your game on the class and see if they can beat it! Demo your project and get user feedback from others. What is the best way to integrate the comments? Show off your creation in our class’s Game Expo and compete for a prize! Think you can win the Most Challenging Game Award?
* You must have completed Game Creator I to register.

App Critic

Grade 4th-6th
How do startups create a product? Think about Steve Jobs and Elon Musk – how was Tesla or the iPhone built? Startups test their products on their users to improve it. Partner with a startup and be the first to test their new, unreleased coding app! Did you know that most startups create more than five versions of a product? Learn how an app is made and partner with a startup team to design a better version! Like Shark Tank, you get to be the judge and give feedback to the CEO. How tough will you be? If you ever want to design an app, this will be great preparation.

Afternoon Theme: The USA’s World’s Fairs

Since the first USA World’s Fair in Philadelphia in 1876, cities have competed to host fairs that highlight innovation. We’ll investigate some of the unusual architecture to come from these endeavors, including the San Francisco’s Statue of Pacifica and Golden Gate Bridge, St. Louis’ Gateway Arch, and San Antonio’s Tower of the Americas. Try building your own! Did you know that George Ferris at the 1893 Chicago fair introduced the Ferris Wheel? Try your hand at creating one. Discover what brought Milton Hershey to that fair– design and make your own chocolate bar label. NY’s 1964 fair introduced Walt Disney’s “It’s a Small World” ride and his state-of-the-art audio animatronics – new technology at the time. What if Austin were the host? What would you include? Investigate how world’s fairs have changed over time and predict what will happen in the future by designing a World’s Fair of the Future Poster.